COME
TOGETHER
We
resumed our hike upstream along the Yellowstone River the next morning. After a short stretch of forest
we reached another meadow. The same
group of horse packers was camped there, and one of the guides came over to
chat. They had originally planned to
continue upstream along the Yellowstone, but they had decided to change
routes. He said that they had cut their
way through tons of deadfall along the last few miles of trail the previous
day. Larry and I had really struggled with
the poor trail conditions. Apparently it would have been even worse if we had been a
day early. The horse group was going to
head up Woodard Canyon, cross the Continental Divide, and then continue to
Ferry Lake and the South Fork of the Buffalo River. Larry and I could only hope that the next
stretch of trail would be better than what we had encountered the previous
afternoon.
We
made good progress initially, and before long we reached the ford of the North
Fork of the Yellowstone River. Before we
crossed, I took a quick side trip down to the confluence of the North and South
Forks. I rejoined Larry, and we waded
across the North Fork, which is more of a large mountain creek than a
river. Then next stretch of trail was
difficult, with some steep climbs and more deadfall. We were still a good distance from rejoining
the South Fork when we encountered another group of backpackers. They were breaking camp from a marginal site
on a hill above a small stream. It was
only the second group of backpackers we had seen on our trip, so we stopped to
chat. They were a family from Texas, doing
an amazing route. They had started from
near the south entrance in Yellowstone National Park and worked their way East
to the Thorofare. They were heading up
into the headwaters of the Yellowstone River just like us. However, they planned to cross Marston Pass
and descend Marston Creek to the South Fork of the Shoshone River. They were really covering some ground!
WELCOME TO PARADISE
We
resumed the hike and suffered through more rugged terrain and deadfall before
reaching a junction at the lower end of a beautiful meadow. A fork of the trail continued upstream on
either side of the river. We weren’t
sure which trail was correct. The map
showed the trail on River Right, but my guidebook described the route on the
other side. We decided to cross, mainly
because there was a huge waterfall cascading down the cliffs on the far side. That feature demanded a closer look. After an easy wade, we strolled through a
beautiful grassy meadow. We had lunch on
a big log and then walked up to the base of the waterfall. It’s probably 200’ tall, and although the
stream isn’t named, it is on a substantial creek.
The
trail faded away at our lunch spot. We
could have continued through the meadow, but we decided to backtrack. It only took a few minutes to get back across
the river to the junction. We followed
the trail on the east side of the river, enjoying views of the cliffs and
waterfall on the other side of the canyon.
The meadow eventually ended, and we entered the forest. We climbed high above the river and passed a
lovely waterfall. My guidebook describes
this is the upper-most waterfall on the Yellowstone River, but that’s not quite
true. There are several more drops
farther upstream on the main river, and some huge waterfalls on tributaries.
The
path leveled out, and we waded the South Fork of the Yellowstone River. Then we began another climb in heavy
forest. At the top, we emerged into
another beautiful meadow. This one is
more alpine in nature, with Younts Peak and Thorofare Mountain towering high
above. My guidebook mentions terrible
mosquitoes here, but we didn’t have any problems with them on a sunny
afternoon. The topo map suggests a
waterfall on the river near here, so Larry took I break while I explored. Some easy off-trail hiking led to the rim of
a canyon high above the river. The South
Fork of the Yellowstone cascades through a rugged canyon far below. Going down for a closer view looked daunting,
so I followed the rim of the canyon upstream.
That approach provided more views of cascades and small waterfalls.
I
rejoined Larry, and we continued upstream through a beautiful meadow. We passed several huge waterfalls on
tributaries cascading down the northwest wall of the canyon. The final climb began, and we passed one last
run of falls and cascades on the river. We
enjoyed more views of Younts Peak and Thorofare Mountain as we steadily climbed
1,000’ towards the Continental Divide.
I
wanted to camp along this stretch of trail, but I only saw one marginal spot
before the divide. I should have left
the trail and hiked northeast towards an alpine tarn, but I was pretty far ahead of Larry, and I wanted to find a spot
without waiting for him. Eventually I
spotted a grassy shoulder near a smaller tarn right
on the Continental Divide. I dropped my
pack there and went back to find Larry.
He was running out of gas, but he got a second wind when I told him that
I’d found a spot. It was a fantastic
alpine campsite with a great view of Younts Peak. The tarn provided a good water source, and we
had a view of a distant waterfall. We
set up camp and enjoyed a lovely sunset before heading to the tents.
Back to Wyoming
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